Kid Icarus: A New World
by Kid Icarus Girl
Summary: "We are on the brink of the most deadly war ever to be recorded, and the five of us are caught at the heart of it." After the Uprising of Medusa, Pit finds himself tossed once again into a battle of life and death. As he and his partner Celina fight for the light, they will find trust in allies, both new and old. Will light rise above, or will it finally meet it's match?
1. Chapter 1

Pit sat with his wings drooping as he looked beyond the field of yellow dandelions. He slowly brought his gaze to the dandelion he was twirling between his fingers. "I can't believe this all happened to me." Pit muttered as he thought about his encounters throughout his life. He let the dandelion slip from his fingers as he looked to the sky. "Well, at least everyone is safe."

Just then, as if on cue, Pit heard someone running towards him. He snapped his gaze towards the sound of footfalls, and saw a human girl. Pit stood up and ran to the cover of the trees. He wasn't in the mood to assure someone that they weren't crazy. The girl ran straight to the spot where Pit had been only moments before.

The girl cursed when she dropped her stack of books that she held in her hands. "... If I lived in the city!" Pit heard her mutter, sounding quite irritated. She bent over and stacked her books, as well as attempt to straighten the bow around her neck.

Pit watched, being sure not to move from his hiding spot. As the girl stood up, the sunlight shone off of the golden star charm on her bracelet.

Almost immediately, Pit recognized it as one of the items Lady Palutena had put some of her power into. Her angels had been going missing, and she had sent the items to Earth with hopes that they would be found by angels, reforming the telepathic bond between their beloved Goddess and them. How a human found one, Pit couldn't think of how.

He staggered back slightly, stepping on a twig. He bit his lip as the girl snapped her gaze towards him. Luckily, she didn't see him. Or so Pit thought. The girl picked up her books and stopped as she saw the soft white feather that had been caught between her hand and the bottom of her book stack. She slid the feather into her free hand, and twirled it knowingly. The girl flicked her gaze towards Pit for a moment, and she smiled, slipping the feather into her schoolbag.

Once the girl had run off, Pit came out from his hiding spot, a million questions running through his head. _Did she see me? Does she know if that feather was from one of my wings? Are my wings going BALD? _Pit turned his head towards his wings and checked for thinning spots.

"Don't worry, there aren't any spots showing." Said a calm, familiar voice. Pit turned around to see Celina walking towards him. Pit had known Celina for years. He had saved her from Medusa's wrath- back when she had been blind.

Lady Palutena had given her the ability to see without hijacking someone's sight. She had taught herself how to do that during the years she spent imprisoned. Pit had received flight, but 'idiotically', in his books anyway, flew too close to the sun and burned his wings. Once again, his flight was gone.

"Did you see that girl?" Pit asked Celina as she walked up to him, flexing her wings. "I saw her. She had a Savior's Charm." Celina replied. She and Pit had decided to call the items by that particular name, although it wasn't official. "How in the world would she find one?" Celina asked as she looked down at the grass.

Celina slowly turned to Pit, and looked at him with a gaze that said _I am not impressed with you._ "What did I do?" Pit asked with a hint of annoyance. "Did you 'assist' that girl in finding the charm?" Celina asked flatly. Pit had been talking about a crazy hunch he had. He insisted that he had seen a girl just like her before, and said he could feel an angel's magic emanating from her. "No, she found it by herself! I had _nothing _to do with it!" Pit said crossing his arms defiantly. "Jeeze, you're a terrible liar." Celina said as the hint of a smile spread across her lips.

"Okay, maybe I did." Pit said as he hunched over, letting his arms drop to his sides. "You know we're not allowed to interfere with the lives of humans." Celina said as she placed a hand on Pit's shoulder. He tried to flinch away, but Celina's grip was tight. He had recently discovered that Celina had a crush on him, and that just made things all the more uncomfortable for him. "Now I have to fix your mistake." Celina said as she slipped her hand down to Pit's wrist. "Come on, we're going to the city."

The two slid into an alley, and got to work on their plan. "Okay, first we need to change how we dress." Celina said as she examined Pit's horrified expression. "You mean, wear what the humans wear?" Pit said as he gripped his toga. "Unless you want that girl to discover what that charm can really do, I suggest you go with the flow." Celina said as she created two orbs of light, one in each of her hands.

"Okay, but if anything goes wrong, I blame you." Pit said as he closed his eyes, waiting for the worst. Celina aimed one orb of light at Pit, and she focused her power as his clothing changed.

Pit wriggled uncomfortably as his sandals were replaced by sneakers, and his toga became a pair of jeans and a gray t-shirt. When the changes were done, Pit looked like the average teenager, aside from the wings on his back. When he examined his reflection in a broken hand-mirror, he sighed and turned to his friend. "What about the wings?" Pit asked. "I can try to hide them, but I don't know what will happen. It's too risky, Pit." Celina said nervously.

"Just give it a shot. I don't know how much longer I can go with these pants- they're itching me like crazy!" Pit said as he scratched the side of his leg for emphasis. Celina closed her eyes and joined the two orbs she held together. She muttered something under her breath and Pit gasped as his wings began to vanish. What really scared him was the weight of his wings seemed to vanish as well.

When Celina finished, she opened her eyes and the orb disappeared. Pit looked at her with eyes wide open. "I think you did something wrong." Pit said as Celina reached to find his invisible wings. When she couldn't find them, she nearly fell over. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry." Celina said quietly as she covered her mouth with both hands.

"What did you do?" Pit said as he looked at Celina with a sudden rage building up inside of himself. "I told you it was risky!" Celina said as she shied away from him. "What did you do to me?" Pit asked once again as he balled his fists up. "You're a mortal, Pit." Celina said as she backed against the wall of a building, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. Pit froze and slumped down. He buried his face in his hands and growled to himself.

"Pit, please don't be mad at me." Celina said as she placed a hand on his head. She ran her fingers through his hair, and Pit felt a tingling sensation run through his body. He began to shake slightly and Celina backed away. Pit looked up at her, his eyes red from crying, and Celina smiled sadly. _At least you can still summon your weapons. _She said telepathically to Pit. He stood up and walked over to his friend. The two embraced each-other, and stood in the dark of the alley, listening to the harmonic rhythm of each-others heart.


	2. Chapter 2

Back in Skyworld, Lady Palutena was an absolute mess. "What could have happened to him? I felt our connection break and that was that." She said to an angel who sported silver wings, as well as a silver laurel crown. "I don't know, Lady Palutena. Shall I organize a search party?" The angel asked, wringing his hands in worry. "Yes. Keep an eye out for any others that you find, Acero." Lady Palutena thanked the angel called Acero, and he ran off to gather the soldiers.

"Celina, are your mages ready to-"Acero burst into the training room, to find the entire soldier squad sill waiting in line for their trainer. "Where is your trainer?" Acero asked a soldier standing at attention. "She has not arrived yet, sir." The soldier said as his wings ruffled in annoyance. "Alright, listen up. As you know, angels have been disappearing from Skyworld. Now your trainer and our Captain have gone missing." Acero barked. A wave of murmurs passed through the group of angels. "It is your mission to find them, as well as any others that are spotted! Now move out!" Acero barked once again as the troops marched out, one by one.

xXx

"Celina, you look-" Pit cut himself off. Instead he thought for a better way to word his sentence as he admired the changed in his friend's appearance. Celina wore a pair of shorts and a white shirt. She had managed to hide her wings under her shirt, although it had caused many a feather to fly. "-nice..." Pit said. "Stop staring at me and let's get a move on." Celina said as she walked out of the alley. "Oh, yeah, right!" Pit said as he ran after her. The two walked down the street, passing by many shops, but they couldn't find their target.

"Pit, I can feel the energy from the Savior Charm." Celina said as she started to pick up her pace. "That girl has to be close." The two walked down the streets of the city until they approached a rather large building. "It's a school." Pit sighed. He turned to Celina and said, "We're posing as students, right?" "Well, we don't have any other option, do we?" Celina asked. "I guess you're right." Pit said as he pushed open the door.

Inside was a mass of teenagers- some in uniforms, some wearing their weekend casuals. "Good, we'll blend in just fine- or at least I will." Pit said dryly as he glared at Celina. "Would you just let that go already?" She said in a huff. _Grudge-holder _Celina said swiveling her blue eyes forward. Both of them walked through the crowd and bumped into a girl. The school-end bell rang, and she tried to maneuver her way between the posing students. Instead of forcing her way to the door, she ended up dumping her books on Pit. "Oh, sorry!" She cried as she scrambled for her notes, which were now scattered across the floor.

"It's fine." Pit said as he helped the girl pick up her things. As they scrambled for the papers, Pit saw the charm on the girl's bracelet, and knew she was the one he was searching for. The girl looked up at Pit's face and froze. He was the winged boy she had seen by the trees, hiding. "I've seen you before." The girl said as she stood up. "I saw you hiding in the trees." Pit stood up and flicked his gaze to Celina, and back to the girl. "I think that was someone else." Pit said as he handed the girl her books. After a couple minutes of ruffling her papers and trying to find the right order, she sighed in defeat.

"Oh, never-mind," the girl said, a hint of annoyance hidden in her voice. "My name's Lina." The girl said to Pit, as she attempted to straighten the bow around her neck, once again. "It's nice to meet you, Lina," Pit said as he ran his hand through his unkempt hair, moving his gaze to the ground. "I'm Pit, and this is my..." Pit didn't know how to refer to Celina. "... My sister Celina." Pit said, gesturing to Celina. Almost immediately, he began to regret what he had said. Aside from hair color and eye color, he and Celina looked nothing alike.

"It's quite nice to meet you as well, Pit, and same to you, Celina." Lina said. _Good, she bought it _Pit thought, quite relieved. "Uh, my- sister- and I, we lost the key to our house, and our parents are out of town," Pit lied. "Do you know where we could stay for a while?" Lina looked thoughtfully at Pit, and then pulled the feather- the feather from Pit's wing- out of her pocket. "My parents just happen to be out of town as well. You two could stay in the spare room of my house." Lina said passing the feather lazily between her fingers. Pit stared at it longingly, until Celina elbowed him in the ribs. "Follow me." Lina said.

The three walked down a street lined with massive houses. "So which one of these is yours?" Celina asked Lina. Celina had been silent since the moment the three had stepped out of the school. She had been admiring the craftsmanship humans were capable of. _How could the humans build these without help from the divine? _She wondered. Lina pointed at a small house, and sped up a little. "My house is right over there" She said happily. "It's small, but it has a spacious basement." "Basement?" Pit asked Celina quietly. She just shrugged, and walked on.

Once the group of newfound friends were inside, Lina took the 'siblings' to the lowest level of the house, which Pit assumed was the basement. "Alright, here's your room." Lina said as she opened a door. Inside was a large double bed, a large desk, a shelf filled with thick books, and the floor was adorned by a single, large, 'shaggy' style rug. "Make yourselves at home. I'll get you two some changes of clothing." Lina said as she closed the door, leaving Celina and Pit to do what they wished.

Once Celina and Pit were out of earshot, Lina began to speak to herself. "You think you have me fooled, Pit, but I know your little secret" Lina smiled to herself. She took Pit's white feather from the table she had set it on, and swished it through the air, in a flapping motion. "You can't hide from the truth, angel."

**Writer's Note: Hi everyone. I have been asked 'How did Pit fall?' The answer to that is: He never fell. Lady Palutena used the Power of Flight so Pit could rest among the field of dandelions. In retrospect, maybe I should have made that obvious. My bad!**

**With best regards,**

**-Kid Icarus Girl**


	3. Chapter 3

Pit bounded up the stairs with Celina hot on his trail. She had fallen asleep at the desk supplied for them, and Pit had decided it would be funny to use a sticky liquid called 'glue' to attach a paper moustache onto Celina's face. "I'm going to kill you!" Celina screamed, making Lina jump. She had been making their dinner, and now it was all over the floor. "The moustache suits you well!" Pit said jokily after he jumped behind the counter, arming himself with a pot and a wooden spoon.

"Ah, no you don't!" Lina said, sounding extremely annoyed. She stomped up to Pit and wrenched the cooking utensils from his hands. Lina took one look at Celina and then glared at Pit. "Pretty devilish for an angel." She said under her breath. Celina, having to rely on her hearing for years due to blindness, had strengthened her listening skills. Pit had deemed it 'pretty much useless' now that she could see, but now, it seemed quite important.

Celina's face went white (much like the moustache hanging off of her lip), and she quickly told Pit what Lina had said (telepathically, of course). "Did you say something?" Pit asked Lina, trying to put the girl on the spot. "No. It's probably just the creaks in this old house playing tricks on you." Lina chuckled, although she knew very well they had heard what she had said.

After dinner, Lina presented her guests with pajamas and two pristine school uniforms. When she asked why they didn't have theirs, Celina explained that their uniforms, which were made of cotton, shrank when their mother put them in the washing machine. Lina didn't buy it one bit.

The angel and the mysterious boy retreated to their room. "Do you believe me now?" Pit asked as he opened one of the many drawers in the desk. "I've seen her before too. She looks like Kiara." Celina said, reverting her clothes back to her usual toga and boots (as well as making Pit's little joke disappear). Kiara had been fighting alongside Pit many years ago, when her spirit was captured. No one knew what had become of her after that. Pit sifted through a stack of paper until he found his laurel crown. It hadn't been transformed when he became human, oddly enough. He placed it on his head and sighed sadly.

"You shouldn't have that on. You'll forget to take it off, and Lina will see it." Celina said worriedly. Little did she know, Lina was right behind the door, listening to their every word. "You shouldn't be revealing your wings. She might just-" Pit didn't get to finish his sentence, because Lina walked right through the door. "See you like that?" Lina finished as she crossed her arms and smirked.

"I knew it!" She exclaimed as she walked over and took Pit's crown off of his head and examined it closely. "So, why are you here?" Lina asked as she turned to Celina, who had gone extremely pale. Celina opened her mouth to answer, but shut it before she said something unwise. "You don't want to tell me, and that just makes me more eager to know." Lina said as she spun to Pit, gently tossing his laurel crown onto the bed. For a long time, everyone was silent. "Well, I'll press it out of you one way or another." Lina said threateningly. She turned around briskly, and walked out the door.

xXx

Acero flew ahead of the angels who he led in his search for Pit and Celina, when he felt a strong energy emitting from a city, when a soldier flew up to him. "Sir, I can feel energy much like Lady Palutena's- could it be one of the Savior's Charms?" The soldier asked. "What?" Acero whipped around and hovered, facing the soldier. Immediately, the others froze and stared. "What are the Savior Charms?" Acero asked quietly. "They are items of which Lady Palutena put some of her power in order to create beacons for her lost angels to follow." The soldier said, quivering. Acero squinted at the trembling soldier. "Who told you of these 'Savior's Charms'?" Acero asked. "Captain Pit himself, sir." The soldier said as he drifted back into his spot. Acero just grunted and flew on, leading the party once again.

xXx

"Well this is just great," Pit grumbled as he shoved his crown under a stack of papers- again. "First you screw up your magic," Pit glared at Celina, who raised her arms in defense. "And now oursecret is out!" Pit slammed the drawer closed, and flopped face-first into the bed. "Well, we either explain everything to her, or risk taking the boot and no Savior's Charm." Celina said caught off guard by Pit's attitude- he really must've taken a beating by the events of the day. "You can- she'll probably only talk to the one with wings." Pit grumbled. _Jeeze, Pit or Pittoo? _ Celina thought.

Celina walked out of the door, slamming it behind her. She was quite offended by Pit- he had never snapped at her like that. She walked upstairs to see Lina sitting on the couch, calmly twirling Pit's feather between her fingers. "Ready to give me an explanation yet?" Lina asked without looking up from the feather. "Yes- but Pit won't be here for the main act." Celina said as she plopped herself onto the couch next to Lina.

"Alright, I want to know about everything." Lina said as she placed the feather on her lap. As Celina spoke of her 'mini' adventure, Lina's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "So, you're saying that this plastic charm," Lina said, pointing to the Savior's Charm, "Has a Goddess's power?" She could barely believe what she was hearing. "Yes, but it does all sorts of magic too." Pit said as he climbed the stairs, mostly done with his anger venting. "Like..." Lina said, obviously wanting to hear more. "It could restore an angel if used the right way." Pit said, which caused Celina to glare at him. "Grudge-holder." Celina said grumpily to Pit.

"I didn't mean it that way!" Pit said, looking at Celina as if what he wanted was obvious. Celina's eyes opened wide with realization. Pit wanted to see if Lina's body housed Kiara's soul. _It's crazy, Pit. If she isn't Kiara, she'll be driven mad by the power! _Celina said to her fellow 'angel' telepathically. "We have to try at least- for her sake." Pit said aloud, instead of communicating telepathically. "Try for whose sake?" Lina asked. Pit and Celina just ignored her. "Fine," Celina sighed, being too tired to argue.

"Lina, take the charm off of your bracelet." Pit instructed. "Why should I?" Lina asked. She was not impressed that the two people she had let into her house had lied to her. "Just because." Celina said, making it known that she wasn't about to say why. Lina yanked the charm off of the silver chain, and held it outward to Celina.

Celina gingerly took it from her hand, and almost immediately, it began to glow. "It's getting hot- is it supposed to get hot?" Celina panicked. Suddenly, the charm jumped from her hand, and floated in mid-air. "What the heck?!" Lina shouted. As the three watched the glowing charm, Lina's blue eyes flashed to grey. "Pit, what's happening to Lina?" Celina asked backing away nervously. When there was no response from her friend, she looked at his face. His eyes were grey- almost lifeless! The light from the charm split into two orbs, and the charm itself fell to the ground. One orb spiralled around Pit, and the other around Lina. Eventually, the energy seemed to seep through the pores of the two humans. "Pit, snap out of it!" Celina said, shaking her friend ferociously. Still, his eyes were unchanged, and he had no response.

"Oh, Acero would have my head for this," Celina said as she slapped Pit across the face. "Oww, what was that for?" Pit said putting his hands to his face. Almost immediately, his eyes returned to their normal sky blue. "W-what happened?" Lina said as her eyes faded to their baby blue color. She ran her fingers through her short black hair, and sat down on the couch, a confused look on her face.

"What happened to you?" Celina said, addressing Pit. She could feel energy emitting from him again. "I think I've gotten some of my power back- and I think my wings are growing back! Pit said to Celina. "How does that work?" Lina asked as she walked around Pit. She stopped when she saw two peculiar lumps protruding from her friend's back. "Oh, that's a little disturbing." She said. Celina stifled a giggle at that remark. Pit just wiggled the nubs, as if he still had wings.

"One question for you two," Lina said, walking to Pit's front side to avoid the view of his wing nubs. "Who's Kiara? The charm gave me her memories. You are both in them." Pit and Celina looked at each-other excitedly. "She was an angel- and you happen to look just like her." Celina said, baffled by the power the charm had kept hidden. "You must be her reincarnate if the charm gave you her memories." Pit said, quite relieved that nothing had gone wrong. "Hmm. Apparently you told Kiara that you have a crush on-" Lina couldn't finish, because Pit had clapped a hand over her mouth. "Let's not talk about that, okay?" Pit said, sounding quite embarrassed.

"I can't believe I'm an angel!" Lina said as she put together a second bed for her guests. She had discovered that she had two small lumps on her back- not unlike Pit's. She was mildly creeped out, but excited at the same time. "Are you two okay with sharing a room? Y'know, since you're not really siblings." She hadn't let go of the 'siblings' lie yet. "Y-yeah, it's fine." Pit said, still caught off guard by Kiara-Lina exposing his secret- well, almost. "I'm fine sleeping in the same room as the fart lord- as long as I don't die in my sleep." Celina joked as she walked into the room. She had changed into a white nightgown whit slits in the back for her wings.

_She looks good in everything _Pit thought as he subconsciously tilted his head to one side. _I got that thought _Celina said telepathically to Pit. His cheeks went red and he turned away. Lina just giggled. Pit hadn't watched where his thought had gone, and since she had been affected by the charm's energy, she had many of the same abilities as her friends did. "Well, I'm off to bed. See you two in the morning." Lina said as she picked up her tools. As she walked out of the room, she cast a sidelong glance at Pit. _I wonder if Pittoo is still around _She wondered.

xXx

"C'mon Pit-stain, where are you?" Pittoo said sounding very agitated. He had sensed his connection to Pit snap, and if it remained that way, his mind would unravel, and he would end up as an empty shell- and even then, his body would fade from existence. It wasn't that he didn't want to die; he genuinely cared for Pit like a brother- although if you asked him, he would deny it. It was dark out, and he could barely see a thing. When Lady Palutena had attempted to extract Pandora's powers from Pittoo, he had used all of his will to keep some of it. At least enough to fly- and maybe enough to give to Pit- but he would never tell anyone about that.

As he was flying through the darkened world, he heard Celina speaking to him through thought.

_I'm with Pit! He's safe!_

Pittoo was relieved- but he kept his guard up.

_Celina? You're with him? And how do you know I care about him?_

_Because you told Kiara that you did, remember?_

Kiara- wasn't she dead? Maybe she hadn't been dead at all!

_Where's Kiara? _Pittoo asked anxiously.

_Well, we didn't exactly find her._

_What? How can you 'not exactly find' someone?_

_I'll explain when you come to her house._

_House? You mean a human dwelling? And why do you think I'd go after her?_

_I'd just assumed you wanted to see her. I'll just tell her you don't-_

_NO! I'll come! Just tell me where to go._

With Celina's guidance, Pittoo landed in-front of a small house- scaring some citizens along the way. When he knocked softly on the door, he was surprised to see Pit wearing a human's clothing, but he was even more surprised when he realized his friend was wingless. The two stood staring at each-other, wide eyed, but eventually Pit let his counterpart inside- with Lina's permission. When Pittoo saw Lina, he nearly fell over. "Kiara?" He asked, obviously overjoyed to see her- or at least a girl who looked like her. "Close, I'm her reincarnate- but I have all of her memories." Lina said as she giggled."I'm Lina- and judging by Kiara's memories, you're Pittoo." Pit laughed at that. His counterpart hated the name. Kiara had found a good friend in Pittoo, and he, in turn, had shown he had feelings for her, so he didn't really mind it coming from her.

"Oh, uh, this is awkward." Pittoo said as he combed his fingers through his black hair- another one of the many quirks he shared with Pit. _He's kind of cute._ Lina said telepathically to Celina. Celina looked at Lina with her eyes open wide. _You like the goth guy, but not the cheery guy? _Celina exclaimed to Lina (telepathically). _Hey, I'm Kiara. I guess she liked him. _Lina walked up to Pittoo and brought him to sit on the couch with the others. "What the heck happened to you?" Pittoo blurted at Pit. Lina elbowed Pittoo in the ribs. "Oww, you really are Kiara." Pittoo said as he rubbed his side.

"Magic accident. I turned him into a mortal, but it's all fixed now- mostly." Celina said shyly. "Okay, so what brought you here?" Pittoo asked. Celina recapped everything that happened (with Pit annoyingly throwing in sound affects for emphasis. _He's such an idiot _Pittoo thought). "Now it's your turn to tell us why you're here." Lina said as everyone turned toward the dark angel. "I'm here to make sure I don't die." Pittoo lied. He grabbed Pit's hand and felt their bond replenish itself. _Where the heck did that come from? _Pit asked Pittoo telepathically, also sharing the question with the others in the room. _Ah, when Pit became human I guess your angelic bond broke _Celina explained to everyone. "Okay, enough telepathy for a while. Let's just get some sleep." Lina said as she got up. "I'll get another bed prepared for you." Lina said as she grabbed Pittoo's wrist and dragged him downstairs. "No, it's alright. I'll sleep on the floor." Pittoo said. He smiled warmly at Lina, and she blushed slightly.

xXx

"This is horrible!" Lady Palutena exclaimed as she paced around her private quarters. "First Koriel goes mad, and now my Captain and main trainer are gone!" Koriel was the Goddess of fate, and word had spread around the world of the Gods that she had merged with the wandering spirit of Hades. Of course she hadn't tried to. She may have been attending to her 'scales of balance' when she bumped her arm into it- _It's possible _Lady Palutena convinced herself. "Lady Palutena," An angel burst through the door of the Goddess's room. "Yes?" The Goddess said, clearly not happy about being disturbed. "One of your beacons has been activated," The angel said. Lady Palutena smiled, but only for a brief moment. She could tell that her servant had more to say. "An army of monsters is making its way towards the location of the beacon."


	4. Chapter 4

"Okay, you and Pittoo are gonna have to pretend that you're brothers." Lina said as she pulled out another uniform for the dark angel. "What?!" The two said in unison. "Me? Him? Brothers? NO!" They continued. "Good, you don't just look the part." Lina said as she dug through a bag. "Okay, Pit, if anyone asks, your name is Arthur," Lina said as she threw a shirt to the side. "And Pittoo, your name is Patrick."

Pit stifled a laugh as he buttoned up the jacket of his pristine school uniform. "Patrick, really?" Pittoo said flatly. "Well, it's better than anything, Patty." Pit said mockingly. "Shut up." Pittoo said as Lina dumped a pile of clothing into the dark angel's arms. He held the bundle out in-front of himself as if it were a dead rodent. "Do I really have to-" Pittoo cut himself off as Lina stared at him hard. "Okay, okay, sheesh. I'm getting changed." He said as he stomped out of the room and down the hallway.

Pittoo walked down the hall, muttering to himself. "Well, for Lina's sake." He said to himself as he gripped the handle of a random door. _Great, I'm going soft _He thought as he flung the door open wide. "Pittoo, get out of here!" Celina screamed as she covered herself with a towel as fast as she could. "Ack, I didn't know you were in there!" Pittoo yelped as he ran through the house, being sprayed by hot water- controlled by Celina. "What am I going to do with you guys?" Lina said as she buried her face in her hands.

xXx

As the search party flew through the air, a sudden screech sliced through the calm silence of the evening. "Acero, I have detected a large mass of dark energy from behind." A frightful soldier said as he slowly pulled an arrow from his quiver. "Arm yourselves." Acero simply said, pulling two dual blades from sheathes. The ring of metal sounded through the air as the soldiers pulled out their swords.

_Ah, Palutena has sent me some treats, has she? _A dark and eerie voice echoed inside the heads of the frightened soldiers. "Who are you?" Acero barked, more of a demand than a question. "Oh, you don't need to know. Your blood will stain the clouds before I can say."The voice said, seemingly coming from everywhere. That time it sounded almost like a growl. Clearly, the owner of the voice wasn't used to speaking in human-tongue.

"Turn around, and your question will be answered." The voice said, this time from behind the armed angels. Acero turned around and his eyes opened wide. A large black dragon hovered behind them. Immediately, Acero recognized it. "Rin-Tai," Acero squeaked, obviously afraid of the beast. All of the angels turned around, and froze. They too must have known who Rin-Tai was. _He is black as the darkest cave in the Underworld_ Acero thought, frozen in mid-air by pure fear.

"Rin-Tai, dragon guardian of the Scales of Balance, what has happened to you? Why did you leave Koriel, your Goddess?" Acero asked mournfully. "I have been enlightened- Hades controls fate now- Koriel is obsolete- I now serve the rightful ruler of all." Rin-Tai growled, red smoke rolling out of the inverted dragon's empty eye sockets- yes, _empty_ eye sockets. _Hades _Acero thought with malice.

"Now, you and your little band of misfits will die." Rin-Tai boomed as his talons began to glow blood red. One by one, screams were heard from the angels, as a dramatic change began to take place. Acero whipped around, staring in fear and awe as his soldiers were mutated into crosses between animals of the Overworld and the monsters of the Underworld.

"Your soldiers are now servants of the supreme God- and the one who shall decide whether you live through this war or not. Now, you suffer." Rin-Tai said as he slashed one blood red claw forward. Acero looked down to see a glowing red gash from his shoulder to his hip. He stared at the dark dragon in disbelief as the feathers of his wings merged together into rough leathery skin.

The awestruck commander's wings turned black, and his round pupils became reptilian slits. He screamed in pain as his bone structure manipulated itself, and his muscles shrank and enlarged at random. Fur grew along his body, and his jaw elongated into a snout. "What have... you done to us...?" Acero growled, trying to keep his voice from becoming a series of howls. "Welcome to Hades' army," Rin-Tai said as Acero's eyes turned from their light Amber to a nightmarish black. With one flap of his wings, Rin-Tai sent the mutated monsters flying down to earth, howling and squealing. As Acero's howl faded from earshot, Rin-Tai growled to himself, "See you in Hell."

xXx

"Well, today was okay, I guess." Celina said as she met up with the others in one of the many hallways of the school. "Easy for you to say," Pittoo said, shuddering at what had happened. "Now I know to watch my mouth." The dark angel said pulling a piece of wet paper from his jacket. Pit shuddered at the memory of seeing his doppelganger walk out of the bathroom soaking wet, toilet paper stuck in his hair. "Pittoo over here discovered swirlies." Pit said as he pulled another piece of toilet paper from the dark angel's hair.

"Well, there was a group of guys staring at me during lunch," Celina said as she flickered her gaze towards Pit. Pit stared hard at the ground before him. Was he blushing? "I tutored a bunch of kids in the math club." Lina said, adjusting the bow around her neck- but to no avail, it slipped again. "Nerd- cough cough." A kid with large round spectacles said. Pittoo stuck out his foot and tripped the boy. "Four eyes." Pittoo said before he turned and left the stunned boy on the ground. The group stopped, and the three angels of light stared at Pittoo. "What, he deserved it!"

As the quartet walked out of the building, their chatter was cut off by a dark howl. "A wolf- what in the world is a wolf doing in the city?" Lina asked herself as she subconsciously held out her hand. In a flash, a golden longbow etched with designs of leaves appeared in her hand. "Whoa, cool!" Lina said as a glowing white arrow appeared in her hand. "An archer, nice." Pit said as drew his bow and quiver from the air. "Am I the only swordsman here?" Pittoo said as a sword as black as night appeared in his hand. "Yup, pretty much." Celina said. "What about you?" Lina asked, addressing Celina. "Light Mage." Celina responded as she let a spark jump from her palm.

Before the group could make their weapons disappear, another piercing howl split the air- this time closer to the friends. "That doesn't sound good." Lina said as she took a sidestep towards Pittoo. He tried to snake his arm around her, but Celina slapped his arm before he could. "All the more reason to check it out." Pittoo said, trying to sound macho in-front of Lina. Lina smiled while Celina rolled her eyes. "Lead on, tough guy." Pit said.

As the group of warriors turned into the alley between the school and an abandoned building, they heard the growl yet again. "It's coming from the end of the alley- the dark part- and the whole alley is dark." Pit said. "Well thanks captain obvious." Pittoo said as he began walking into the shadows. The other three crept along, when the growling became much louder. "Hey guys, over here!" Pittoo called from beside a stack of garbage bags. "I think its over-" He didn't finish his sentence. A winged wolf- yes, a _winged _wolf, black as the shadows, jumped from behind the stack, snarling at the teens.

"It's too big to be a wolf from Earth," Lina said as she aimed an arrow at the wolf. "And Earth wolves don't have bat wings!" Celina yelled as the wolf leaped at her. She started throwing white orbs of fire at the wolf, causing it to yelp in pain. "Hah, fire isn't going to damage an underworld freak!" Pittoo yelled as he struck the massive wolf in the back with his sword. The wolf screeched in anger, but not in pain.

Pittoo tried to pull his sword out of the fresh wound, but it wouldn't budge. The winged wolf seemed to absorb the sword into its body and doubled in size, as well as heal itself. The bat-wolf reared up on its hind legs and aimed at Pittoo. "Oh crap." Pittoo squeaked as the overly muscled wolf sent the dark angel flying. No one saw him smash into the wall of another building.

"What the heck is with this thing?" Lina said, firing spontaneously appearing arrows at the wolf monster- which just made it grow in size. Pit scoured the body of the wolf looking for a weak spot, when he saw a patch of fur on its forehead- shaped like a star. At that moment, Pit realized what had to be done to defeat the brute- press the Savior's Charm into the monster's forehead.

"Lina, do you have the charm?" Pit yelled over the roaring of the monster. How no one could hear it was crazy. "Yeah, why?" She called. She had been trying to find Pittoo in the rubble of the exploded garbage bags. "That's how we kill this thing!" Pit said as he did a summersault, narrowly being swatted by a bloodied claw. "Distract it!"

"Hey ugly!" Lina screamed. The wolf turned her way and howled in fury. At that moment, Lina saw the yellow star-shaped fur patch. She then understood that she had to pretty much commit suicide. "Come and get me- unless you can't!" She shouted mockingly. The monster thundered toward Lina. The reincarnate dug the charm from a pocket in her skirt and threw her bow to the side. It immediately vanished, along with the arrows. "Die!" She screamed as she leaped toward it. She landed on its head, flipping onto its back. It jumped into the air, and took her soaring. "Lina!" Pit and Celina yelled in worry.

"Whatever the hell you are, you die now!" Lina said as she pressed the charm into the wolf's head. It screamed in pain as the charm seemed to burn itself into the overly furry head. Almost immediately, the body fell limp and began to shrink. "Oh my god, why me?!" Lina screamed. She had to be at least fifty feet above ground. As the wolf shrank, it began to glow a blazing white and gold. Lina closed her eyes, curled into a ball and began to pray.

"Don't let me die, don't let me-" She didn't have to finish. Suddenly, the back of her shirt split and out emerged two ivory-white wings. "What the-" Lina said as she instinctively spread her feathered wings wide. She landed gently on the ground and folded her new wings tightly. She looked up and watched the glowing lump land on the ground at her feet. "That was fast." Celina said, walking over to Lina, examining her friend's wings. She seemed oblivious to the glowing lump.

"Never mind the wings- look at the wolf!" Pit cried as he kneeled by it. The remaining three squinted, and saw a humanoid figure encased in the light. Lina knelt down where she thought the figure's head was. She stuck her hand into the light and rested her palm on the forehead of the figure. She sucked in sharply as she absorbed the light, and they all watched as her wings turned from white to gold. "Now you look even more like Kiara." Celina said with a smile.

"Acero?" Pit said, sounding quite surprised. "What?" The two girls said, also surprised. "What the heck is he doing here?" Lina asked as she propped his head up with her hand. Her memories from Kiara allowed her to remember Acero. "Oh..." Acero's Amber eyes flickered open slightly. He brought his hand to his head and winced. He looked at Celina and then at Lina. When he looked at Pit, his hand dropped to his side. "Hades- Rin-Tai- monsters- Koriel- mutants- Palutena- Pit- not dead- oh!" Acero squeaked in a panic. He fainted just moments after.

"Drama king- he always was." Said a groggy voice from the shadows. Pittoo walked slowly and dizzily into the light. "Always hated 'im." The angel said, slurring his words. He collapsed in a heap next to Acero. "Oh great- come on, let's get them back home." Lina said nervously. Pit picked up his twin, and the girls picked up the unconscious 'drama king'.

xXx

"What do you mean they're not dead?" A feminine voice screamed in rage. "Please, forgive me. I did not know they possessed Palutena's power." Rin-Tai said, coiling up in the light projected down onto the floor in the darkened room. "You have failed me, dragon. I have half the mind to kill you with Koriel's sacred blade!" The voice screamed again. "Be gone from my presence!" Rin-Tai sprang from the light and into the darkness. A woman with black flames for hair stepped into the light. Her shimmering black dress seemed to be made of shadows. One of her eyes was completely red- redder than blood- and the other black as death itself.

"Ah, Kiara. You have found a way back to your meaningless world of light yet again," The woman said. "It's too bad that I can use the precious goddess of fate against you." The woman snarled as she walked over to a black pedestal with a set of golden scaled on it. One side held an orb of light- the other an orb of darkness. As she pulled down the side with the darkness, the orb grew bigger, and the light orb smaller. As she did so, she began to laugh darkly. "I, Hades, God of the Underworld, and the one in possession of pretty little Koriel, will kill you and your friends- if I perish- along with my hostess doing it."


	5. Chapter 5

"Jeeze, he's heavy," Lina complained as she and Celina literally threw Acero onto the couch. "Well I'm carrying the couch potato!" Pit grunted as he tromped into the living room, flipping his counterpart into a chair. "So, how do we wake 'em up?" Lina asked, turning to her friends- the ones that were conscious- in turn. "Slapping people always works." Celina said as she raised her hand, making a slight swinging motion.

"Nah, my head already hurts." Pittoo said, finally coming around. "Slap Acero, see if I care." He said as he put his hand to his forehead. When he moved his fingers away, they were stained red. Lina took one look at his hand and jumped slightly. "I'll fix that," She said as she ran to find her medical kit. As she ran by, she felt the dark angel run his hand along her wing. _Now he's creeping me out _Lina thought to herself, cringing.

"Guys, he's coming 'round," Pit said as he kneeled by Acero. Acero groaned and slowly opened his eyes. "W-what happened?" He asked, slurring his words. He raised a hand to his forehead, and sucked in sharply. He cringed in pain and lowered his hand to his chest. "First things first, what happened to the wolf thing, and how did you get there?" Pittoo questioned, raising his hand to his head in attempt to stop the cut near his eyebrow from bleeding more.

"Rin-Tai assaulted my- your- troops," Acero said to Pit, immediately correcting himself. He had been Captain- before Pit came along. He still wasn't used to '2nd place', as he called it. "What?" Celina and Pit said in shock. _Rin-Tai is on our side! _Celina said to both Pit and Acero telepathically. "Well, not anymore. Hades has infected him. His silver scales are black as death- he transformed your troops into monsters- including me. He sent us to Earth to wreak havoc among the humans." Acero said, shuddering as he remembered what he felt when he became a wolf.

"So the rumors are true." Pit said, his brows furrowing. He put his hand to his chin and was soon lost in thought. "Yes, Hades has merged with Lady Koriel. He plans on eliminating all of the Gods and Goddesses, along with their armies and loyal servants. I would be happy to assist you in kicking Hades' butt." Acero said, smirking. He decided he would try and use the new 'hip' slang that the young angels used. "Not working for you, Ace." Pittoo said. Acero frowned and cringed as a throbbing feeling ran down the back of his head. "What's wrong?" Lina asked as she came back with some medical tape and gauze.

"Kiara- you're dead, aren't you?" Acero asked, springing up in his seat. He seemed oddly excited. Pit had never seen Acero so happy. "I'm sorry, that was quite rude of me to say." Acero said, flicking his amber eyes downward. Lina smiled slightly and tilted her head to the side. "Its fine, Acero. And Kiara is dead- I'm a reincarnate- apparently. I'd prefer it if you called me Lina, though."

"The Savior's Charm gave me Kiara's memories so-" Acero cut Lina off. "The Savior's Charm?" Acero's eyes opened wide. "You mean _a _Savior's Charm. There are many of them." Acero said, his eyes still open wide. "Okay- a Savior's Charm. I used it to turn you back into an angel- or at least that's what I think happened." Lina said. "And in what way did you use it to change me?" Acero asked, leaning forward in his seat. "Lina pressed it into your wolf form's forehead, and you sort of absorbed it." Pittoo piped in after Lina finished bandaging his wound up. There was already red seeping through the first layer of gauze. Acero's amber eyes sparkled with curiosity. "I think I know what happened after I absorbed it." Acero said as he raised his hand to the long thick locks of hair that covered one of his eyes. He slowly moved his hair away, and on the left side of his forehead, was a fresh scar- shaped like a star.

xXx

"Why didn't I think of this earlier?" Lady Palutena asked herself as she sprung from her bed. She had been pondering what to do about the disappearance of her many angels- including her Captain and main trainer. She had gotten word that her search party had suddenly disappeared from 'radar', and on top of that, there were monsters following the activated beacon!

"I could speak to my angels by sending them thoughts- they cannot speak back, but I can speak to them!" She said, sounding childishly eager. When she tried to speak to Pit, she was surprised to find out that no matter how hard she tried, her thoughts could not be sent to anyone- not even another Goddess.

_I hope you don't mind me cutting in on your power, pretty Palutena. _A voice cut in "Koriel?" Lady Palutena said aloud. _I am both Koriel and Hades. _The ominous voice of the Goddess echoed eerily in Lady Palutena's head. "Hades, release Lady Koriel and return to the bowels of the Underworld." Lady Palutena said, raising her voice slightly. The room had suddenly gotten very cold, and the usual bright light was now nothing more than what a small flame could give off. _Oh, but I adore this form so much- and it would take me twenty five years to be reborn- and it is so easy to maneuver this slender, beautiful body. Ah, Lady Koriel may be even more beautiful than the Goddess of Light herself." _Hades said nonchalantly.

"If you choose to torture Koriel, I will be forced to terminate you myself." Lady Palutena said, nearly yelling, as she summoned her staff to her aid. "Oh, pretty Palutena, you were always so stubborn." A strong feminine voice said from behind Lady Palutena. The Goddess of light whipped around to see a woman smiling at her darkly. "L-Lady Koriel?" Lady Palutena stuttered, quite afraid of what had happened to the Goddess. Her once silver hair was black as night, and seemed to be made of the very fire the Underworld was born of- her once soft brown eyes were black and red- the Goddess of fate looked more like a wife to the God of the Underworld now. "You will serve me- or die." The voice of Hades said through the body of Koriel. "Never!" Palutena shouted aiming her staff at the corrupt Goddess. Koriel lunged at Palutena and the two Goddesses tumbled to the ground, wrestling.

Koriel ripped Palutena's staff from her opponent's hands, and threw it aside. Koriel slapped a hand across Lady Palutena's mouth, and held down all of the Goddess of Light's limbs. From above, the image of Hades' face loomed. "You'll never get away with this, Hades!"Lady Palutena screamed, her voice muffled by the hand over her mouth. "Well, I think I already have." Hades said with a dark laugh. In less than a second, the room became a void of blackness. "Say goodbye, Palutena." Koriel said with a smirk. Koriel jumped and hovered in the air by Hades, as the Goddess of light fell to the Underworld, Hades laughing darkly.

xXx

"What the heck?!" Pit said as he nearly tipped out of the chair he sat on. "What did it do to you?" Celina said as she stalked towards the Commander. "It kinda put a star scar on your head." Pit said as he examined the scar. "No- duh!" Pittoo said as he brushed the wrinkles out of his uniform. "Shut up already- or I just might give you a swirlie MYSELF!" Celina said as she whipped around, glaring at Pittoo. The dark angel opened his eyes wide in terror and huddled in his chair, re-wrinkling his uniform. "Not again- not again- not again…" He squeaked. "Great, you're rubbing off on me." Celina muttered as she turned around to face Acero- again.

"I don't know too much about what happened, but I feel odd- almost energized- but not in a way most would perceive being energized. It's almost like someone supercharged my magic skills." Acero said as Celina flicked her gaze toward him with a confused look plastered onto her face. "But you have no magic skills- only a select few angels have it." She said, obviously eager for a reply. "O contraire," Acero said, his amber eyes glimmering with ancient knowledge. "We all have some magic inside of us- sometimes we just need a boost to find it. In ancient legends, it was said that if one of the divine bestows upon you the knowledge of the past, your magic is brought to its maximum peak of power. In my case, since I absorbed some of Lady Palutena's power, I have gained more knowledge than any of you could ever learn in a thousand lifetimes. I know what has happened since the dawn of time, to what is happening as we speak." He explained.

"One side effect of absorbing the Goddess's magic, is I have become a being formed of raw power." Acero said. As Acero finished his sentence, everyone's jaws dropped. "You're kidding," Pit said as he eyed Acero. "If I was kidding, you wouldn't have met Lina, and none of us would be here," Acero said, a grim edge entering his deep voice. _And you wouldn't have found my daughter's reincarnate_ Acero wanted to say, but he held his tongue.

"We are on the brink of the most deadly war ever to be recorded, and the five of us are caught at the heart of it." Acero said as he stood up, and held his hand out to the side. Within seconds, Pittoo's blade appeared in his hand. "You'll need this later on." Acero said as he handed it to the dark angel. "Awesome," Was all he could say. "The universe has once again called upon the angels to save humanity. From now on, I dedicate myself to the safety of this world, and all others. I dedicate myself to keeping time on track- and making sure that no more lives are lost." Acero said as he looked at Lina, a deep sadness entering his gaze. "Count us in!" Lina said, grabbing Pittoo's wrist and lugging him towards the door. "Us too!" Celina said, following Lina's example and grabbing Pit. The five angels made their way to the door, unaware that beyond the safety of the house was the biggest nightmare imaginable.

xXx

When Lady Palutena awoke, the cold had dug into her bones. Wait, cold? Where was she? Lady Palutena slowly opened her eyes to find herself bound to the floor of an ice cave, in nothing but a flimsy shirt and trousers. The material was poorly made, and obviously meant to retain the cold, and not her body heat. Her emerald green hair had been lopped off so it reached only to the part of her neck which held her head upright. "Well looky here, Palutena's awake." Koriel said as she walked over to the shivering Goddess. "Koriel, what has Hades done to you?" Lady Palutena asked, sounding quite defeated. Lady Palutena felt an odd emotion- fear- but it wasn't fear of herself being tortured, but fear of someone else being tortured- but who?

"Oh, don't worry. Hades has released me, but I simply adore the Underworld. I have been given more power than anyone could imagine. Hades doesn't need to survive inside of me anymore." The inverted Goddess said as she circled Lady Palutena. "How is he able to do that?" Lady Palutena asked. The feeling she had kept amplifying, but she just couldn't put her finger on who she was worried about. "That's simple. He's drained you of your power and is using it to rapidly restore himself- you are nothing more than a mortal now." Koriel said with a dark laugh.

Lady Palutena's face went pale. She instinctively tried to grab something and hold it close as if it was precious to her in order to protect it from the dark Goddess. Wait- what was she trying to do? "Why do I feel odd?" Lady Palutena asked, narrowing her gaze at Koriel. "Well, why don't you see for yourself?" Koriel said with a snicker. The dark Goddess waved a hand over Palutena, and a long mirror appeared. When Lady Palutena saw her reflection in the mirror, her green eyes opened wide. Beside her lay a small boy- soft green hair and green eyes. His lips were blue from the cold and he looked at Lady Palutena longingly, yet he had determination hidden in his gaze. He had been what she was reaching for. He was her son- the child she had always wanted. "Harlan," Lady Palutena said quietly as she turned her head towards the boy. He replied with a simple nod of his head. He was too cold to speak.

The former Goddess whipped her head towards the Goddess of fate. "Why create a son for me?" Lady Palutena asked. She knew the reason was not good. "I looked through your fantasies to find a way to make you suffer. I found out that you longed for a son. I took that fantasy and made a reality from it. He will grow to be the next ruler of the Underworld, and the one to kill that do-gooder Pit- the perfect way to torture you!" Koriel said with a sneer. "If he is to be the next ruler, then why torture him?" Palutena asked. "When I created him, I could not darken his soul. You guarded the thought well," Koriel said. Palutena smiled. "I had to try different ways to darken his soul, and this seemed to be the best way to do it. It's currently the most effective. A couple more hours and he'll be darker than a demon." Koriel said with a laugh.

"What about the flaw?" Palutena asked Koriel. The dark Goddess immediately stopped laughing. "Ah, yes. Born with wings, he was." Koriel said as she walked towards the mouth of the cave. "You made him an angel- of some sort. It's going to be a while before I crack the shell." Koriel said. "Well now, I must bid you ado, mortals. Goodbye." Koriel said as she walked away. _Of some sort? _Lady Palutena wondered. _He should be just like Pit_

"I won't rule the Underworld," Harlan whispered. Lady Palutena turned her head towards her son. "I won't let them kill you either." He said as he clenched his hand into a fist. He flicked his gaze to his fist and Lady Palutena did the same. When Harlan opened his hand, inside was a small figure- a green dragon. It crawled to his wrist and in one small burst of flame burned the rope that held its master captive. The rope turned to ash and it proceeded to the other ropes. When the ropes were gone, it hopped onto its master's shoulder and made a growling sound in his ear. Harlan stood up without a sound and Lady Palutena stared at his wings in wonder. Protruding from his back were not feathered wings, but silver-green scaled dragon's wings. He spread them wide and turned to look at his mother. _I'll be back for you, Mum. I have to find the guardian _Harlan said telepathically. Palutena smiled a she watched her son fly off. She knew he would be back. After all, he was an agent of fate.

**Writers Notes: Whoa, mind blowing chapter. That was really hard to write. I just finished reading a series called The Last Dragon Chronicles. To those who have read it, the name Harlan and the dragon that Harlan had may remind you of the story. To those who have not read it, READ IT NOW. No flames about this please, I am NOT making a Kid Icarus/Last Dragon Chronicles Crossover. Here is an explanation as to why I used a similar idea:**

**I like the name Harlan for some reason :P**

**I like dragons and it adds a mystifying air to the plotline**

**Harlan came into my mind and I knew I had to use him somehow**

**Well, that's all for now.**

**With best regards,**

**-Kid Icarus Girl**


	6. Chapter 6

As Harlan flew through the Underworld, he felt his dragon blowing smoke rings out of nervousness. Harlan made a growling sound from the back of his throat and his little dragon was calmed. _Don't worry, Drexel. It'll be fine _He said. As he flew, he cringed in disgust at the slime which grew along the walls. What disgusted him to the core was the Monoeyes. To him, they were random eyeballs with strings attatched to them. When he found the savior he would have to ask what the rest of the world really was.

Koriel and Hades had told him that the Underworld was a paradise and the Overworld was really bugs waiting to be squashed- and what they said about Skyworld- they said the angels were the true demons- they said such horrid things about Pit that Harlan wished more than anything to un-hear them. Although they tried to convince him of these things, something inside of him said it wasn't true. Maybe it was the knowledge his mum had given him before he was real- when he was just a hope. Technically, Palutena wasn't his mother- Koriel was, but he didn't want to think about that. He hated the Goddess, and he swore that he would restore his mum to her former glory.

"Harlan, get down here this instant!" A voice shouted from below. The dragon-winged boy looked down to see Hades and Koriel staring at him. Tons of flying monsters were being sent his way- some Underworld freaks, some the monsters Palutena's army had become. Drexel crawled into Harlan's hair and clung tightly, growling into his master's ear. "I know. I'm going to have to hurt them." Harlan said as his pupils changed from their usual round shape to reptilian slits and back again. Drexel pounced off of Harlan's head, and into the boy's outstretched hand. Immediately, the green dragon began to shimmer and glow. He launched himself off of his master's hand, and grew in size. "Don't hurt the angels bad, Drexel." Harlan said calmly as he perched on a stone column, much like a dragon would. Harlan could feel the souls of the trapped angels inside of their grotesquely changed bodies

Soon, Drexel was the size of a dragon most would picture in their fantasies. Drexel threw fire at the charging Underworld monsters and whipped aside the changed angels with a large claw or his tail. "Where did Harlan get the dragon?" Koriel asked Hades, who's eyes were burning (literally) with anger. "While you created him, you let his spirit wander! He merged his soul with what remained of Rin-Tai's light side! You created a Dragon God! He called the dragon to his aid! What were you thinking, you fool of a Goddess?" Hades snapped. Koriel's jaw dropped as she watched the last of her forces fall to the ground. _Evil never wins _Drexel said to Hades and Koriel before he shrank back to his normal size. Drexel flew back to his master, leaving the two Underworld rulers awestruck and furious.

xXx

"So where are we going?" Pit asked. The group had changed their attire to that of the average citizen, and were making their way to the edge of the city, when Acero stopped dead in his tracks. Everyone turned to look at him. His eyes opened wide in horror and he buried his face in his hands, letting out a mournful "Oh!" Everyone ran to him and started talking all at once. "Shut up!" Lina said to everyone as she pushed through to the tall angel. "Acero, what's wrong?" She asked, placing a hand on his arm. He flinched, but didn't say anything. Lina had reminded him of his daughter right there and then- he had missed Kiara so much. _Come on; just tell me _Lina said telepathically to the distressed angel. Underneath her shirt, the golden feathers of her wings ruffled. She could tell something was up- whether Acero said so or not.

Finally, Acero looked at her and sighed. "I guess you could call this a status update on Palutena," He said sadly, "Hades has her in the Underworld- he's feeding off of her power." Pit's eyes opened wide with horror and grief. "Scratch that- he _fed _off of her power- he has reduced her to a mortal." Acero said, almost as grief stricken as Pit. Celina stared wide eyed at her friend. She had only seen him cry once before and it had hurt to see it. She tried to choke back tears and wrapped her arms around Pit in a tight hug. Instead of shying away, he hugged her back. This surprised Celina, but she enjoyed the hug anyway.

"But we can't let this get to us- we have to find a way to the Underworld- we can't open any portals in this world- we don't have enough power- not even I could do it- and I'm pretty much raw power." Acero said as he continued walking. The others followed, all teary eyed- aside from Pittoo- who had his arm around Lina, comforting her.

"Dark Pit, what do you want most in the world?" Lina asked. Pittoo stared ahead and thought about his answer. No one had asked him anything like this before. No one had cared enough to ask. "I want a friend." He finally replied. Lina looked at him and smiled. "You have tons of friends around you, silly." She said. "No, I mean, a friend like Kiara- I- I miss her." Pittoo said quietly. He had never spoken so openly about his feelings before. "I _am_ Kiara- and I'm still your friend." Lina said as she cuddled into the dark angel. Pittoo smiled and walked on.

xXx

Finally, after hours of searching, Harlan found a portal to the Overworld. He looked about, and realized he was in the middle of a grassy field dotted with yellow dandelions, like a green canvas with yellow splotches of paint. Little did he know, this was where Pit had seen Lina- and embarked on the journey which would change his life- and the lives of all others- forever. Harlan sat in the field and toyed with his hair until Drexel jumped out, and '_hrr'_ed in annoyance. Harlan looked up at the sun- it was setting, and it would soon be dark. "I wish I could have lived my life from the beginning." Harlan said to himself as he curled up near a bush. Drexel grew slightly in size and curled up behind the dragon boy. Drexel brought his tail around Harlan protectively, and the both fell into a peaceful sleep.

Meanwhile, the group of angels had made it out of the city. The five angels walked through the forest, attempting to find a natural portal. They could have flown, but Pit still hadn't gotten his wings back. "You know, it's kind of humiliating to not be able to fly," Pit said in a huff. "At least you knew you were an angel before yesterday." Lina countered. "Point made," Pit said as he walked ahead of the group. Celina looked up at the sky to see a red hue making its way in order to mark the arrival of the night. "Maybe we should turn back- it isn't safe out here- besides, we have no supplies whatsoever." Lina said, sounding slightly nervous. "Relax, there's a huge amount of bushes and trees that bear fruit- we'll be fine." Celina said to Lina to try and comfort her anxious friend. "And besides, I'll be here to keep you safe." Pittoo said to Lina, who looked down at her shoes, blushing.

"Guys, be quiet!" Pit snapped. He was standing over by a bush pointing to something. The others walked over to see a boy- probably around the age of fourteen- sleeping under a bush. Behind him sat a dragon, which was now awake and alert, and spewing sparks at the intruders. "Run!" Pit screeched as the bush caught fire. Pit ran off to the middle of the field with the others, when Lina stopped and remembered the boy. "He's under the bush!" She cried as she turned around and ran to save him. "Lina, don't! You'll get hurt!" Pittoo said as she wriggled out of his grasp. "Lina, please, don't hurt yourself!" Acero pleaded, but she had already run back to the bush. "Come on kid, move!" Lina cried as she grabbed his arms. The dragon roared in anger and made the flames grow. The heat was beginning to sear Lina's face. "Kid, wake up, please!" Lina cried, when she did something she never thought she would do. She made a low growling noise using the back of her throat. She had no idea what it meant, but she felt that she should. Almost immediately, the boy woke up. He looked at Lina, his green eyes filled with wonder and fear, when he noticed the bush was on fire.

"Help, get me out of here!" He cried as he struggled to crawl out from under the bush, Lina pulling to try and help. The dragon roared and jumped from behind the boy, and landed behind Lina. It prepared to pounce, when the boy made a low _hrr_ sound from the back of his throat. The dragon froze and lay down on its side like a dog. The boy crawled out from under the bush and scrambled away from it. The boy thanked Lina, and brushed himself off. "Lina, are you okay?" Pittoo shouted as he ran over, the others trailing behind. Acero had a look of pure shock and worry on his face. He ran over to Lina and inspected her for burns. "Lina, are you okay? Did you get hurt?" Acero was acting like a paranoid parent. "I'm fine, Da- I mean, Acero." Lina said, her cheeks turning red. "Who's the kid?" Celina asked, gesturing to the boy who Lina had just saved. "I'm Harlan," The boy said after he had whispered something to the dragon. Pit looked Harlan up and down. Harlan looked fourteen, but in reality, he was only a couple hours old. He was short for his age, but was still reasonably tall. As Harlan stood up, the dragon absorbed the fire from the bush, leaving a burnt skeleton of what was once a plant.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Harlan. I'm Lina, and these are my friends," Lina said, addressing Harlan and the group of angels now huddled behind her, staring warily at the dragon. Lina addressed each of her friends in turn, and then looked nervously at the dragon. When Harlan saw the angels staring at the dragon, he sucked in sharply, making a shrill whistling noise. The dragon jumped behind him and Harlan's eyes opened wide. "You weren't supposed to see him," Harlan said, more to himself than to the angels. "Don't worry, we know about dragons." Acero said, a faraway look in his eyes. "We're angels." Pittoo said flatly. Pit elbowed him in the ribs, along with Celina. "Oww- oww! Would you two stop doing that to me?" Pittoo snapped. "Excuse my friend here- he needs to learn to _shut up when he's not asked to speak._" Lina said, addressing Pittoo.

"I can tell you're no ordinary human," Acero said to Harlan. "You're correct," Harlan said with a smile. He sighed and unfurled his wings. Everyone's jaws dropped, and the dragon poked its head out from behind Harlan. It had now shrunken down to its original size, and scurried up Harlan's side to rest on his shoulder. "You're a dragon?" Lina asked. "Close- I'm part angel, part dragon- you could say." Harlan said with a smile. He ruffled his green hair and turned away. Harlan started walking towards a sheltered part of the forest, and beckoned for the others to follow. No one moved. "If you want shelter, and a fire to keep you warm tonight, I suggest you follow me." Harlan said. Hesitantly, the angels followed, slowly exposing their wings- aside from Pit- who still had none.

The six huddled by the firelight, feasting on a variety of sweet berries and nuts. Each in turn told their stories, but Harlan's was the most captivating. "So, Lady Palutena has a son- a Dragon God as a son- to be exact?" Acero asked. "Well, technically Koriel is my mum, but I was born of Lady Palutena's thoughts." Harlan said as he toyed with the small dragon in his hands. "Harlan, you never did tell us the name of your Dragon. What's his name? He's adorable!" Lina asked, cooing over the dragon. The dragon immediately stopped and flared his nostrils. "Hrr!" _I am not adorable! _It said. Harlan laughed and set the dragon down. "This is Drexel. He helped me escape the Underworld- he's stuck with me since." Harlan said as he looked up at his newfound friends. Eventually, his gaze settled on Pit, who was drawing shapes in the dirt with his foot. "Pit, I'm sorry that you can't fly," Harlan said. Pit looked up and shook his head. "Don't be. It's not your fault-" Pit was cut off by Celina. "It's my fault. I messed up my magic- now he has to wait for his wings to grow back." Celina said. She sighed and stared into the fire.

Harlan thought about what he could do to help his friends. After all, they were the reason why he hadn't burned to death. He was still a Demi-God. He wasn't full grown; he wasn't like his Mum yet- immortal. Harlan stood up and walked over to Pit. He sat down beside the wingless angel and pulled a pocketknife out of his pocket. "Harlan, what are you doing?" Pit asked, staring at the knife. "Don't worry, I have no intention of harming you." Harlan said.

He brought the knife to Pit's back, and cut slits in his shirt, exposing his wing buds. He put the knife away and put his hands together. As he pulled them apart, two blue orbs of energy flew from his palms. "Consider this a gift to thank you for coming to my aid." Harlan said as the orb landed on Pit's wing nubs. Everyone gasped as in their place two feathered wings emerged from Pit's back. Pit spread his wings wide. Each feather was white at the bottom and slowly faded to a blue at the tip. Pit smiled and tucked his wings in. "Thanks, Harlan." Pit said happily. His wings were now large enough and strong enough to support him in flight.

"And Celina, take this." Harlan said as he pulled a silver chain out of his pocket. Dangling from the chain was a ruby carved into the shape of a sleeping dragon. "I found it while I was looking for a place for us to set up camp. It's the least I could do to thank you." Harlan said. He walked over to Celina and slipped the chain around her neck. He fastened the two ends together, and stood back. Celina fingered the charm, and felt a jolt of energy run through her. "Harlan, you just gave us a Savior's Charm, thank you so much!" Celina said to the Dragon God. He blushed slightly and said 'It was no big deal'.

That night, when everyone was asleep, Lina sat awake by the fire, a blanket materialized by Celina draped over her shoulders. "Lina, what do you want most in the world?" Pittoo asked as he sat down beside her. "I want a friend." Lina said with a smile. "But you have plenty of friends," Pittoo said as he leaned in towards her. "I want a friend who will stay with me forever," Lina said. "Well you've got one now." Pittoo said as he stroked Lina's cheek with his thumb. The two leaned closer and closer together, until what they both wanted happened. They kissed.


	7. Chapter 7

It felt like the whole world had stopped just for them- they had though Celina had magic- this was true magic- the magic of love. They pulled apart and looked into each-other's eyes for a long time. "I'm sorry," Lina said quietly. "I don't know what I was thinking." Pittoo said. He stroked Lina's cheek one last time and they entered a peaceful sleep- Pittoo sheltering Lina from the cold.

In the morning, Drexel snuffed out the fire, and the group set out on their travel. "_Hrr!_" Drexel growled into Harlan's ear. _The girl with the golden wings is the guardian! I can feel her power! _"I know, she'll be the one to defeat Hades and free my mum." Harlan said, his wings twitching slightly. As they walked through the forest, Drexel began to feel uneasy. "_Hrr- hrr_" Drexel said, tugging on Harlan's hair. _I can sense dark energy around us- prepare to attack. _Harlan delivered the message to his friends, and they quietly armed themselves. "They're after me." Harlan said, fear entering his voice. "You're safe as long as we're together." Acero said reassuringly, pulling out his dual blades. "We're safe as long as we aren't killed by Underworld creepies." Harlan said as two long knives- almost short swords- appeared in his hands. The metal had a greenish hue to it. "Spoken like a God." Pittoo said mockily. Lina went to elbow him, but hesitated, and glared at him instead.

"Uh, guys, what's this?" Pit asked, nudging a black fuzzy and scaly lump. "I have no clue. Let's see if it reacts to light." Celina said as she walked towards it. As she neared it, the dragon charm on her necklace began to glow black, and Acero sucked in sharply. "Don't move a muscle." Acero whispered. Celina froze. The tall angel walked towards the lump, and underneath his hair, the scar on his head began to glow. "Don't touch it, Acero. It's a trap." Harlan said, grabbing Acero's arm. Acero turned to the God and stared as he watched the boy's pupil's turn to reptilian slits. "I mean it." He said, his grip on Acero tightening. Drexel snorted and jumped off of his master's shoulder. He shuffled over to the lump and poked it. "_Hrr, hrr!_" Drexel exclaimed. _See, nothing happened! _As soon as Drexel flew away, the ground began to shake. Lina stared hard at the little dragon. "Drexel, in the name of Palutena, what made you do that?" Lina snapped. Her eyes opened wide when instead of English words coming from her mouth, she once again made a series of growls from the back of her throat.

Harlan stared at her in amazement, his pupils returning to normal. He smiled slightly and said something under his breath. _As it should be_ He said. It had been fated for Lina to speak in the Dragon Language- he could tell since he had truly been born to serve the timeline of fate. The two Pit's assumed fighting stances in-front of the girls, and then something quite unusual happened. The feathers on Pit's wings turned silver, and gained a metallic hue. Harlan smiled knowingly as the feathers became sharp and blade-like. "It's on!" The two Pit's yelled as monsters spilled from between the trees. Pittoo looked toward his counterpart and gawked when he saw what had happened to him. He seemed to be made of solid metal. The one thing that had not changed was his eye color. "P-Pit, l-look at yourself," Pittoo said nervously. Pit looked down at his hand and nearly fell over. "I'll explain later," Harlan shouted, stabbing his way through a horde of monsters coming his way.

Celina's dragon charm was blazing, as was the scar on Acero's head. "Well hello there, misfits." A familiar voice sneered. Pit looked up toward the sound and nearly screamed in anger when he saw an image of Hades, smiling darkly. "Hades!" Pit yelled.

"Pit!"

"HADES!"

"PIT!"

"HADEEEES!"

"PIIIIIIIT!"

"HADEEEEEEEEEEES!"

"PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"

The two droned on and on until Harlan interrupted. "Will you two just shut up?" "Now, little Dragon, you shouldn't be speaking to the one responsible for your birth that way, especially now that I have adopted you after Palutena left you in the dust." Hades said scornfully. "You had nothing to do with my birth, mum never abandoned me, and you will NEVER be my father!" Harlan screamed. He launched himself into the air, his green eyes turning yellow- like a lizard's- and his pupils once again becoming slits. His heart was pounding, his small wings flapping faster than they should have been able to. The energy that the last part of Rin-Tai had was flowing through his veins- and Hades should have known better than to upset the son of a Dragon- especially if that son was a God. "Rin-Tai- the Dragon King- was my father." Harlan said in the language of his kind. His wings began to shimmer and glow white. The face of Hades stopped smiling and gawked in horror. Harlan's wings more than quadrupled in size, and he spread them wide. "Now Hades, you and your monsters will die!" Harlan screeched, his voice booming. He pointed one of his swords toward the attacking monsters, and one toward Hades. At the tip of each sword, a green orb appeared. The orbs fired off in the direction the swords pointed, and rapidly grew. Instead of smashing into the ground or hitting the image of Hades, they became two Dragons.

One dragon circled around its targets and spewed flames at its enemies while the other one flew towards Hades. The God of the Underworld was baffled by the power the small boy had- Harlan had created- yes, _created_- two Dragons- a boy formed from thought had created the new Guardians of the Scales of Balance. The second Dragon flew towards Hades and opened a vortex in the sky. It flew in, taking the entrance with it. Moments later, the face of Hades screamed in agony, and then disappeared. Harlan had sent one Guardian to the Underworld to attack the evil God.

Hades called back his troops, leaving four tired angels staring at a flying Dragon boy. Harlan lowered himself to the ground, folding his massive wings behind himself. His wingtips nearly brushed the ground! "That was…" Acero said, trailing off at the end. "Awesome!" Pit exclaimed, reverting back to his normal form within seconds. Acero noticed slight changes in the Demi-God's appearance- he seemed to have become more muscular, as well as gain quite a bit of height- it must have been the spirit of Rin-Tai inside of him, attempting to force Harlan's physical form to its limits- that had to be the explanation for the enormous size of his wings. "Pit, let me explain what happened to you," Harlan said, his eyes fading from yellow to green- his pupil's unchanged.

The friends sat down to hear Harlan's story. "Pit, along with your new wings, I gave you the ability to transform into a superbeing. You can change your body into metal, which will pretty much turn you into your own impenetrable armor- just stay away from fire," Harlan said, laughing at his joke. Pit didn't get it. "This will not hinder your movement- that includes flight- or make you any heavier." Harlan explained. "I'm sorry to say this, but you wouldn't have been powerful enough to defeat both Hades and Koriel without assistance- they both have stolen the power of your Goddess- my mother." Harlan said sadly, his emotions threatening to make him cry. The Demi-God turned to Celina and Acero, who were sitting side by side. "Acero, your scar not only tells the creatures of the three worlds that you are the keeper of all knowledge, it also acts somewhat like a warning system-" Pittoo cut Harlan off, "Ha ha, you have a stop-sign on your head." Lina stood up and kicked Pittoo in the gut, causing him to fall backwards. "Don't you dare speak to my- Kiara's father- like that again!" Lina said furiously. Everyone aside from Acero and Harlan- who knew about this- looked at the golden winged angel, confused looks on their faces. "That's right, he's Kiara's dad- technically mine," Lina glared at Pittoo, who was rolling around in agony. "So I suggest you shut the hell up."

"Alright, back to the original subject," Harlan said, sounding slightly uncomfortable. "Your scar will glow when you are in danger." Harlan finished. He turned to Celina, who was fingering her ruby charm. "The charm I gave you also acts as a warning system," He said, looking at Pittoo for a second. "As well as amplifies your power. You too would have been too weak to face the power of three Gods at once." Harlan walked over to a whining Pittoo and pulled him upright. "It was fated that you'd be kicked in the gut." He said with a snicker. "Yeah, but why'd she have to displace my ribs?" Pittoo groaned, holding onto his bruising torso. "Lina, you are the key to winning this battle," Harlan said to the former human. "When you spoke to me in the language of Dragons, I realized you were the one the universe had commanded me to find." Harlan explained, Lina's eyes widening. "You are the guardian of the three realms, also known as the Unmei Guardian, and it is your duty to ensure that balance is returned- even if it means eliminating the Underworld entirely." Harlan said. "You are the one who can truly kill Hades once and for all, return Koriel to her former state, and return the stolen power to my mother." "I swear to do everything I possibly can to keep things on track until my duty is done." Lina said, sounding far more mature than she really was.

"It was fated," Harlan said with a smile. He held his hand to the side and Drexel appeared on his palm in a puff of smoke. He out his paws together and slowly pulled them apart, a portal appearing. Drexel threw the portal to the ground, and everyone watched in awe as it expanded, soon large enough for a Fire Wyrm to fly through with five others, side by side. "First stop, the Underworld." Harlan said as he ran through, his wings spread wide. Next came Pit, Pittoo, then Celina. Lina stopped and hesitated, thinking about what had happened to her. "Dad, why did this happen to me?" Lina asked- to no one in particular. "Because it's what the universe wanted, Lina." Acero said, placing a hand on the reincarnate's shoulder. "You are still my daughter, and I'll always protect you, Lina- reincarnate or not." "And I'll always be your daughter- reincarnate or not." Lina said, overwhelmed by many emotions. Lina turned and hugged Acero, and he caressed her lovingly. "I never wanted this," Lina said, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I know, I didn't want it either." Acero said quietly. "You are my real dad- and I'm a real angel- I'm not Lina anymore- I'm Kiara," Lina said, her baby blue eyes fading to amber. "And now I'm going to do what I was born to do- right what is wrong."


	8. Chapter 8

"What?!" Hades shouted as he thundered across the room, up to Koriel. "Lord Hades, Pit is accompanied by the reborn Unmei Guardian, and they have found a way to intrude our realm!" Lady Koriel exclaimed. "I heard what you said, ugly rat!" Hades screamed as Koriel shied away from her ruler slightly. "With the power they have gained, they might just defeat your mighty army!" She squeaked. Hades glared at Koriel, rage building inside of him. "My army has been destroyed- after you deployed all of my troops on suicide missions!" Hades screeched as he grabbed Koriel by the throat. "M-my L-lord, please… do not… kill… m-me…" Lady Koriel rasped, ripping at Hades's hands. "I will suck the very life force from your body and use it to destroy the line of fate!" Hades growled. Lady Koriel's eyes opened wide, her expression full of fear and shock. Although she was inverted, she still cared about the timeline of fate. "N-no my lord, no!" Koriel screeched, finally freeing herself from Hade's deadly grip. Her eyes darted around the room and she cowered in a dark corner. "Then what do you suppose I do, little imbecile?!" Hades roared, his mighty voice echoing off of the walls of Lady Koriel's inverted palace.

"They sound like an old married couple." Pit said. Pittoo smirked and Lina squeezed his hand tight. Pittoo's smirk was wiped straight off of his face when he felt his blood circulation being cut off by Lina's squeezing. The 'band of misfits' had been watching Hades and Koriel through a small portal that Drexel had created. "Lina- I can't move my arm anymore." Pittoo whispered, and Lina reluctantly let go of him. She was absolutely terrified of what lay ahead of them. Acero gently patted Lina's shoulder reassuringly, taking a moment to shoot Pittoo a glare that said 'If you want to get to my daughter, you deal with me first'. "I can feel the energy of two and a half Dragons here," Harlan said, signaling to Drexel to shut the portal. "You mean you can sense two and a half Dragons?" Pit asked. _"HRR?!" _Drexel asked, nearly falling over out of shock. _There's a Dragon cut in half and one half is dead?! _"NO!" Harlan exclaimed, staring at Drexel, wondering how he could think of something like that. "There's an undead Dragon roaming around the Underworld, and it's only emanating half of the energy it should be- which means something is possessing the poor, lost soul." Harlan explained, clenching his fists. How could somebody torture the soul of such an innocent creature? "HRR!" Drexel said urgently, while tugging on Harlan's pant leg. "Not now, Drexel." Harlan said, sounding slightly agitated. "HRR HRR!" Drexel persisted. _I can sense Lady Palutena's thoughts- she's trying to contact you and she says there's an army and- _"Drexel, stop it, we're fine." Harlan snapped, sounding quite angry. He shook his leg side to side, flinging poor Drexel into a wall. "No, we're not!" Lina snapped. Everyone turned to look at her- they hadn't expected her to say something like that. "Hell, at this rate, we'll never be- unless we get our butts into gear, and search for Hades and Koriel!" Lina shouted, clenching her fists. "We need to get the upper hand- fuck, at this rate; Hades could be listening to our every word!"

"And oh, how right you are." The voice of Hades boomed. "What the hell was that?" Acero asked himself as he spun around, unsheathing his swords. "I don't know, it sounds like the voice of a retard." Celina said with a smirk. "Oh, shut up! The next person who insults your new ruler will have their inside ripped out through their mouths!" Hades boomed. The group of fighters looked out into the darkness of the Underworld and watched as a massive black dragon rose from the darkness. "Hades merged with a Dragon!?" Harlan screamed, his eyes turning from green to a reptilian yellow. He spread his wings wide and growled- like a dragon. "Whoa, calm down Harlan." Celina said, placing a hand on the demi-god's shoulder. Harlan flinched slightly, and folded his wings flat against his back. "Oh, the little salamander wants to be a Komodo-Dragon now, does he?" The voice of Hades said from the mouth of the black dragon. "What did you do to the Dragon I sent after you?" Harlan asked, glaring at Hades. Dragon Hades smirked- as much as a dragon can smirk- and laughed. "Let me tell you, he makes a fine body to inhabit." He said, flicking his tail side to side. "You'll wish you never said that." Lina said, holding her free hand out to the side. Instead of a golden arrow appearing, a jet of blue fire shot from her palm and hit Hades straight in the eye. He jolted backwards, roaring in agony. "What the fuck?!" Lina exclaimed, staring at her hand. "Another ability you get- because you're the Unmei Guardian." Harlan said with a smile, his eyes turning green again.

"You won't defeat me that easily." Hades growled. He held a claw out and thousands of glowing orbs appeared. "Savior's Charms!" Celina exclaimed, clenching her fists. Two swords formed of energy appeared in her hands and she held them at a ready stance. "Nine hundred ninety nine thousand ninety eight to be exact." Hades said with a growl. "I'm missing two." He said while eyeballing the scar on Acero's forehead, then the charm around Celina's neck. "You're not going to win this one, Hades!" Pit shouted, the tips of his wings gaining a metallic hue. Slowly, the metal spread up his wings and covered him entirely. "Good, you've started to learn how to use that ability." Harlan said with a snicker. "Hades, you will fall for sure!" Harlan said, opening up his clenched fists. Resting on top of his palms where two green orbs- almost like pearls. They rippled and morphed until they solidified into two long blades. "Die, Hades!" Lina shouted as she spread her golden wings wide. She launched herself up to Hades and shot blue jets of fire at him.

"Come on, let's go!" Harlan shouted as he flew up with Drexel to join the attack. Soon most of the others followed. "Alright, I've been waiting for a good fight!" Celina shouted as she prepared to launch herself into flight. Then she noticed Pit, who seemed quite frustrated.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you flying? We've gotta fight!" Celina said to Pit. "I can't access my metal form, Celina." Pit said, sounding quite annoyed. Celina grabbed his hand, and Pit started shuddering slightly- just like he had when Celina had run a hand through his hair. "There we go. The power share is complete, now you can access the power from my Savior's Charm- it should be enough to let you transform." Celina said with a smile. "And encase we don't live through this," Celina said as she pulled Pit close. "I'll just do this now." She said as she kissed him. At first Pit was shocked, but then he started to enjoy it. They pulled apart and Celina flew away. "Damn, girl." Pit said as he accessed his Metal form and flew after her.

"I don't have enough power!" Pittoo shouted as he narrowly dodged Hades's claw. The claw didn't hit the Dark angel, but it hit his sword- which broke in two and fell into the blackness of the abyss he hovered over. "D'aww shit!" He yelled. "Eat this, angel!" Koriel's voice rang out. The next think Pittoo knew, he was on the ground, Koriel standing over him with a club. "Lights out," She said. "Everything has to happen to me, doesn't it?" Pittoo said. The next thing he knew, everything was black.

"We're starting to overpower him!" Celina called as she struck Dragon Hades in the eye. "Agh, little pest!" Hades screeched, as blood poured from his slashed eye. He scrunched his eye closed and grabbed Celina. "Now you die, pest!" Hades said as he crushed Celina in his grasp. "Let- go- of- me- now!" Celina cried as she lost consciousness. Hades threw her to the ground for Koriel to torture.

"How dare you!" Pit screamed as he flew past Hades, cutting the Dragon with the sharp metal feathers on his wings. "Well Pitty Pat, looks like you've learned to fight!" Hades said cockily. "It's you who's learning to fight!" Pit shouted as he kicked Hades in the face. Normally, that wouldn't have hurt a dragon, but a foot made of titanium hurts quite a bit. Hades was sent flying back, but sent a jet of black fire in Pit's direction. Pit was engulfed in flame, but didn't die. He just heated up, but eventually it became too much for him to handle. "F-f-fuck…" Pit stuttered as he fell, unconscious.

"Pit!" Harlan called in worry. Almost all of his friends had fallen, and now he was one pissed Dragon.

"HADES!" Harlan's voice boomed. Dragon Hades turned to look at the Dragon God. "Ah, my little boy is growing up!" Hades said with mock happiness. "Now is your time to die!" Harlan screamed as his eyes turned yellow. As he sped towards Hades, a dramatic transformation began to take place. The demi-god began to glow red. His form morphed until he was a large red Dragon- his eyes filled with malice and anger. Hades's eyes filled with shock and fear as Harlan crashed into him, clawing at his face. "Now you fall!" Harlan said- his voice sounded like that of a full grown warrior. "You cannot overpower me so easily!" Hades roared. All that time the Savior's Charms had been floating around Hades. Now they were glowing extra bright- Hades was absorbing their power! Hades shoved Harlan off of him, and the Dragon God crashed into the wall. The force of the collision knocked him out. The demi-god morphed back to his normal form, and fell onto a small ledge.

"Lina, be careful!" Acero shouted as he watched his daughter kick Hades in the back of the head- but to no avail. When the Keeper of Knowledge was not looking, Koriel took a swipe at him. She struck Acero in the head and he fell unconscious, along with the others.

"How could they fall so easily?" Lina asked herself as she fired at Hades. "Because Koriel is manipulating fate! She cannot manipulate you because you're too powerful for her weak mind to penetrate!" Hades growled, half lecturing Koriel. "Why won't you die?" Lina shrieked as she was smacked away by Hades's tail. "Because I have the power of three Gods, that's why!" Hades roared. Lina landed on a ledge and panted. This was going nowhere. She clenched her fists and felt a large wave of energy building up inside herself. She put her hands together and slowly pulled them apart. Between her hands was a purple vortex which would destroy anything in its path. "This might just kill me," Lina said to herself as the vortex widened. "But it's worth it."

Lina pulled her hands as far apart as she could and shot the rapidly growing vortex at Hades. "Die, you monster!" Lina screamed as the vortex sucked the last of Lina's power from her. Her wings fell limp and she plummeted downward. "Lina!" Pittoo shouted. He had woken up in time to see her shoot the vortex at Hades. "My lord!" Koriel screamed. Lina fell at the edge of a cliff and Pittoo watched in awe as Hades was sucked into a world of blackness. Koriel jolted and fell in a heap. Her long black hair returned to its usual silver colour, and her eyes changed back to their soft brown.

"Huh? What happened?" Pit said groggily as he sat up. He had reverted to his normal form, and the tips of his wings were black from the dirt. "I don't know…" Celina said as she walked over to him, holding her side. It was bruised and bleeding badly- the blood was soaking through her toga. "Where's Harlan?" She asked. "Here." Acero said from behind. He walked up to them with the demi-god in his arms. The poor boy had a broken arm and leg. "Where's Pittoo?" He asked as he spit blood from his mouth. "Over there." Celina said as she pointed to the farthest end of the cliff. Pittoo sat hunched on his knees, cradling Lina's head in his hands.

"Why'd you have to die?" Pittoo whispered, tears rolling down his cheeks- the first pure tears he had ever shed. "Pittoo, it's alright." Pit said as he placed a reassuring hand on the dark angel's shoulder. Pittoo shrugged the hand away and stroked Lina's cheek lovingly. "Lina?" Acero said in shock. His eyes welled up with tears and he turned away. "It's really okay, Pittoo. Sacrifices have to be made sometimes. I'm sure she loved you as much as you loved her. It's okay." Pit whispered. Pittoo stood up with Lina in his arms and whipped around to face his counterpart. "Okay?!" He yelled, causing Pit to step back a few paces. "The only person who understood me- the only one who loved me- she's dead, and you think its okay?!" Pittoo screamed. He ran away from the group and flew off to find a portal out of the Underworld. Celina ran after the dark angel, shouting after him. "Pittoo, wait, come back! You-""Don't bother; you won't be able to catch him." A familiar voice said. The group turned around to see Lady Palutena, frail and thin, walking toward them. "Mum," The crippled Dragon God said with a smile. "Harlan," Lady Palutena said with a smile. She walked up to Acero and touched his forehead. His scar glowed a bright white. "Ah, I see you have absorbed my power." Lady Palutena said. "Please, I cannot bear to see you like this, my Lady. Extract the power and heal yourself." Acero pleaded. Lady Palutena once again touched his forehead and slowly, she regained her usual form.

"We defeated Hades once and for all," Celina said cheerily, although she could barely walk. "Now, what about Pittoo? Where's he going to go?" Pit asked his patron Goddess. "I don't know. He is very distraught. We should let him be for now." Lady Palutena said. She raised her hand and her staff appeared. "Next stop, Skyworld." Harlan said before his mum could. She smiled and the group was lifted into the heavens in a flash of white light.

(Writers Note: Thank you to everyone who sent in ideas to help me with this chapter; I am re-inspired and will have the next chapter up soon!)


	9. Chapter 9 (Final Chapter)

Pittoo flew through the sky, tears streaking his face. He held Lina's cold body close, as if to keep her warm. "I have to find it," Pittoo murmured to himself. He glanced down at Lina's face, frozen in an expression of pure bravery. Pittoo looked down upon the large forest beneath him. "I lost you before- I'm not losing you again." Pittoo said, his voice cracking slightly. He squinted to try and see through the thick fog; funny- there usually wasn't any fog in that area. Not long after, he gave up his aerial search for what he wanted, so he slowly descended into the thick forest. He adjusted Lina's head so her sightless gaze would look into his eyes. He blinked in surprise when he saw how her eye colour had changed. "Amber," He said, shaking his head side to side. "She really is Kiara now." He looked about his surroundings, looking for a mound of rocks. He walked through the forest, the fog getting thicker by the second. "Ouch!" Pittoo hissed as he stubbed his foot on a large rock. He fanned away the fog as best he could with his wings and lo and behold; in-front of him stood a large cave- blocked off by a mound of rocks. "Perfect." Pittoo said as he set Lina down against a thickly stumped tree. He ran at the rocks, lifting and throwing them to the side as fast as he could. "Agh, my hand!" Pittoo growled as a stone cut into his palm. He veered away and dropped the stone, which cut deeper into his hand on its fall. "Shit- oh, it doesn't matter," Pittoo muttered as he tore a strip of material from his toga. "The hole's already big enough." He growled as he wrapped the strip around his hand. He grabbed Lina up and ran through the hole he had made in the rocks.

When he entered, there was a glowing white portal on the other side of the cave. "This'll take me to the Rewind Spring- I hope." Pittoo muttered to himself as he ran through, Lina's head bobbing lifelessly. Pittoo emerged from the portal to see the Rewind Spring, in all its glory. He slowly walked toward it, and kneeled at its edge. "Please work," Pittoo whispered as he set Lina in the water. Slowly, she started to glow a light blue. "It's working!" Pittoo said happily. He watched in awe as Lina sat up in the water- still glowing. She took one glance at her hand and leaped out of the water. "What the heck?! Where am I?! What's happening to me?!" Lina shouted as she watched herself fade back to normal. "We're at the Rewind Spring," Pittoo said happily. Lina turned around to see the dark angel smiling gleefully. "Pittoo!" Lina shouted as she ran into his arms. "I thought I would die for sure- thank you!" Lina whispered as she squeezed Pittoo tight. The dark angel blinked a couple times out of shock, then wrapped his arms tightly around his friend. "I thought we'd never see each-other again," Pittoo said as he felt an odd sensation run through his body. He'd never felt anything like it before. He was feeling pure joy. He swept Lina off of her feet and spun around in circles before setting her down again. "Whoa, where'd that come from?" Lina asked with a giggle. "I have no clue," Pittoo laughed. Pittoo took Lina's hands and they smiled at each-other. Lina noticed the fabric around the dark angel's hand, and frowned with concern. "What did you do to your hand?" Lina asked as she uncoiled the black fabric. "It's nothing," Pittoo said, trying to move his hand away. Lina held his wrist tight and pulled the material off. It was stained a dark red with blood. "It's not nothing if it's soaking wet- with blood!" Lina said as she dropped the cloth. When she saw the cut she gasped. "This is not nothing- it's the exact opposite!" Lina said in shock. She examined the cut and wiped some of the blood away. Pittoo's face contorted in pain, although he had been trying his hardest not to do that. She looked at it closely and absentmindedly gently placed her hand on top of the cut. "Lina, that hurts like hell, please stop." Pittoo groaned, but she seemed focused on something. She slowly lifted her hand upwards, and small little orbs of blue flame lifted from her palm and seemed to fill the deep cut. Pittoo's look of agony changed to one of unease, and then wonder. His hand tingled, and the small orbs of fire glowed brightly. Soon, they disappeared, taking the cut with them, but leaving behind nothing but a thin scar.

Pittoo stared at Lina in absolute wonder, and she shrugged as if to say 'It was an idea, I tried it, it worked'. Pittoo laughed, and shortly after, Lina joined in. Pittoo pulled her in close and they hugged each-other tightly as a bright light flashed behind them. Pit ran out of the shaft of light, his expression full of relief and slight annoyance. "Pittoo!" He called as he ran up to them, panting. "Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you! You've got to come to Skyworld now, Lady Palutena says-" Pit cut himself off when he saw Lina hugging Pittoo. "Uh, isn't she…" Pit trailed off at the end of his sentence. "Dead?" Lina finished. "Apparently not- at least I don't think I'm dead." She said with a smile, making Pittoo grin widely. Pit had never seen his counterpart so happy. "Alright then, let's get a move on." Lina said as she dragged Pittoo over to the spot where Pit had originally appeared. "Lady Palutena, take us home!" Pit called and the three angels were lifted into the heavens.

xXx

"Lina?!" Acero blurted when he saw his daughter appear in a flash of light. "Dad!" Lina shouted. She immediately started blushing and looked away. "You can call me your dad." Acero said with a laugh. Lina ran up to him and the two embraced. "How are you- you know- alive?" Acero asked. "Because Pittoo put me in the Rewind Spring. He's a real hero." Lina said, looking over her shoulder at the dark angel. Everyone turned and looked at Pittoo, who was blushing like crazy. "Err, how's Harlan?" Pittoo asked to try and deflect everyone's attention. "He's doing fine. You might want to stop into his room to say hi." Lady Palutena said from behind Acero. Her hair was beginning to regain its length; it had been cut quite short. "Lina, I do not believe we have formally met," Lady Palutena said to the golden winged angel. "No, I do not believe we have." Lina said shyly, letting go of her father. "I am Lady Palutena, Goddess of Light. Pit has told me all about you, starting at minute you took him and Celina to your home, to the moment you sacrificed yourself in order to save all humans and angels alike." Lady Palutena said, placing a hand on the reincarnate's shoulder. "Pittoo took me to the Rewind Spring- I guess I should add 'Cheater of Death' to my résumé!" Lina joked. Everyone laughed, and then Celina walked into the room. "Lina?! Wait- are you guys punking me?" Celina questioned, eyeing Pittoo. "No, I'm real." Lina said, walking up to Celina. Just to be safe, Celina poked Lina's shoulder. "Okay, no magic." Celina said. "Oh, Pittoo, Harlan wants to see you- he says that he knew you'd be coming at this time." Celina said. Pittoo raised an eyebrow in wonder- he though Harlan was a little shady. "Fine." Pittoo growled, trying to regain his tough-guy appearance.

"Harlan, are you okay? Please tell me you're not too badly hurt!" Lina said as she bustled into the Dragon God's room. "I'm fine, Lina. Just a couple bumps and bruises." Harlan chuckled as he lay in bed, one arm and one leg bandaged heavily. "Harlan, Lina could heal you." Pittoo said from the back of the crowd. Everyone turned and stared at him. He never offered up ideas- ever. "Well that was out of character." Pit said. Pittoo raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Ah, I could." Lina said as she circled around Harlan's bed. She removed the bandages from Harlan's arm, and proceeded to do the same to his leg. After all of the bandages were piled on the floor, she held her hands out over the small boy. Small orbs of fire leapt from her palms and landed on his arm and leg. Ever so slowly, the bruises disappeared, and the crippled boy regained his strength. Lina lowered her hands and the orbs disappeared, one by one. Everyone who had witnessed the spectacle had their mouths hanging open- aside from Pittoo, who was smiling ever so slightly. Harlan slipped out of bed and tested his leg. "Not a single bit of pain, interesting." He said. He glanced at Pittoo and smiled. "She also healed your hand, am I correct?" Harlan asked the dark angel. "How did you- yes." He said, sounding slightly shocked at being called out that way. Harlan walked up to him and took his hand. He examined his palm carefully. "Only a scar left behind," He murmured. "Interesting." Lady Palutena mused. Harlan tilted his head slightly. "Very."

The four young angels sat with each-other, watching the blue sky fade into light shades of pink, red and orange. "So, this is my new home, I guess." Lina said as she leaned into Pittoo, who gently put an arm around her. "I guess so." He replied. "Y'know, we could all get used to this." Celina murmured. "Get used to what?" Pit asked. "Not having Hades trying to rip our heads off." Celina replied with a smirk. "Uh, Celina, about that kiss…" Pit said nervously. Lina and Pittoo both turned towards the Hero of Light. "Kiss?!" Pittoo exclaimed. "Who would kiss you?" Lina glared at the dark angel and elbowed him in the gut. He cringed in discomfort, and whined. "Does it always have to be me?" He groaned. "Yes, yes it does." Lina said. Pit fiddled with his laurel crown which he held in his hands. "And yeah, about the-" Celina cut him off before he could continue. "Why- did you not want me to kiss you? Did I do something wrong?" Celina asked. "No, I kind of… enjoyed it." Pit said slowly. Celina smiled and cuddled into him. The two couples sat in silence for a while, watching the sun set. Harlan and Acero walked out together, and Acero smiled when he saw the younger angels together. "Don't disturb them." Harlan whispered to Acero. "Strange- I'd usually be lecturing someone like that." Acero said with a smile. They all watched as the sky faded from pink, to orange, then to red. All was peaceful in Skyworld, and-

_**BOOM!**_

"What the heck was that?!" Lina yelled, springing to her feet. "I don't know, but it doesn't sound too good." Pittoo said, summoning his sword. "Let's not jump to conclusions now," Acero said, gesturing for Pittoo to lower his weapon. "Acero is right. It could've been one of the Centurions deciding to… experiment…?" Harlan suggested. "Way off, Dragon boy!" A high-pitched, familiar voice boomed from above. "Viridi!" Celina and Pit yelled in unison. In a flash, everyone was armed. "That was a reset bomb- the humans have once again offset the balance of nature, and I'm determined to give them what they deserve!" Viridi yelled as a giant image of the young Goddess appeared. "Not on our watch!" Lina shouted as she spread her wings wide. "Well well, the dainty little girl is going to get her hands dirty, huh?" Viridi mocked. "I guess I'll have to send someone to clean her up!" Viridi shouted as the Flying units of the Forces of Nature appeared in the sky. "Is that all you've got?" Lina taunted. "First let's see if you can handle 'em!" Viridi snapped. "Ready?" Pit asked. "Ready!" The others replied in unison. They all spread their wings wide. Lina had a look of pure determination on her face. She clenched her fists and shot herself towards the troops; "Go!"

The End

(Writers Note: Hah! I'm guessing most of you thought I wouldn't use Viridi, but I did! Never doubt the author; plus, I set this up for a POSSIBLE sequel- so keep reading my stuff- you'll never know what'll pop up!)


	10. The Adventure Continues!

Wassup readers?!

If you guys liked this story, you'll be glad to know that the adventures continue in:

Kid Icarus Random Shorts!

Feel free to send me ideas for shorts; I'll put them to good use!

With love,

-KIG


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